Volunteer Information

4-H Youth Development 

4-H Volunteer Information

Becoming a 4-H Volunteer

Are interested in becoming a 4-H volunteer in Trumbull County?  If so, that is wonderful!  We are here to help you with your desire to work with children.  Our organization is built on the hard work of folks just like your selves!  We would not have a 4-H program without the hard work and dedication of hundreds of volunteers!  While we are very dependent on volunteers, we also have a responsibility to the community, parents and the children to make sure all 4-H members are in a safe and welcoming environment.  We must monitor who we allow as volunteers into our system in order to ensure a safe and comfortable learning environment for our youth.  This means that all individuals who wish to become 4-H leaders must complete a selection process that has been instituted by our state 4-H office.  The process is simple, but mandatory.  To begin the process, interested persons need to complete a 4-H volunteer application which includes work experience, past volunteer experience, and references.  Interested persons are also required to have a criminal fingerprint report run and sign a code of conduct.  Once the fingerprint report is finished and all references have been contacted, interested persons will be required to go through a one-on-one interview & orientation with the Trumbull County 4-H professional.  Once all these steps have been completed - you are done!  Welcome to Trumbull County!  For a volunteer application packet, please click here or contact the Trumbull County OSU Extension Office at (330) 638-6783 for a packet.  We look forward to working with you!

Getting Organized:

• Get a year's calendar, your personal calendar, and the 4-H calendar.
• Read the Green Pages 4-H Advisor Handbook.
• Set the whole year's worth of 4-H club meetings at the beginning of the year.
• Make a list or develop a club program book for every family to receive and stay informed.
• Utilize the Ohio Green Pages 4-H Advisor's Program Book  (in organizational packets.)

Get a notebook to keep all your 4-H stuff in it so it can all goes with you to every meeting.

Planning the Club Year:

Check the 4-H calendar for all the "big" dates and deadlines that apply to your club.  Plan meetings to get these things done ahead of time or to go together.  For example: 4-H Enrollment materials are due April 1 and many State Fair entries are due June 20.  It is a good idea for one club advisor to be responsible for turning in the enrollment materials and fair entries.

Meet with the officers (if a large club) or everyone (if a small club) and brainstorm some goals for the club year.  Plan meetings and dates to accomplish these goals.  Hint:  it may not be possible to do everything in one year, use your guidance to help club members learn to plan for long range, as well as short term goals.  Maybe some activities can take place in the less busy time of year when project work is completed.

Getting it all done:

Assign or ask members and parents to help with specific projects.  Parents will often help when asked, sometimes they just don't know what to do to help you.

Establish a phone calling plan for contacting members and use it.  Some clubs have telephone committees if all are in one phone exchange.

Establish times for each member to report on project progress.  Make this the members' responsibility to tell you how they are doing. Ask each member to report what they've completed since the last meeting.

Use an agenda at every meeting. Write it on a big piece of paper or make a copy for every member.  Using an agenda does several things:

• alerts everyone to what they should have prepared for the meeting (committee reports, officer reports, etc.) (including you!)
• keeps the meeting on track and on time
• keeps old business from being forgotten by going back over the last meeting to prepare the agenda

Developing a club constitution or guidelines:

Establish standards for attendance and participation from the beginning of the club year.  Write a constitution if the club doesn't have one, review it and have all members approve it.  For example:  How many meetings is it acceptable to miss?  What does a member do when they cannot attend a meeting?  What happens if a member cannot participate in a club project?  Will the club have dues?  (Note:  dues are up to the club, a club should only access dues if they have a reason to.)

You may want to set some group goals for all members to strive for, and to build a feeling of teamwork.  For example:  We want to have 100% of the projects we signed up for completed.

Invite parents to attend meetings at anytime.  Their presence can be valuable for communications, or they may volunteer to help because they are aware of what you are doing.  Some clubs may require parents to come to an organizational or project sign-up meeting so they are aware of the club and project expectations. 

4-H Family Newsletters:

Every 4-H family in Trumbull County receives a newsletter which contains all the news and updates about what's happening in the program. This newsletter comes at various times of the year. Read this letter carefully each time you get it and mark the things that pertain to your club for the next meeting.  Even though everyone has received that same information, it never hurts to discuss it at a meeting and make reminders.

Where to go for more help:

Click here to view a series of 4-H fact sheets for volunteers. Don't hesitate to call the extension staff at anytime with big or little questions.  We are here to help and have voice mail so we can return calls promptly.  Other advisors and key leaders are often a good source of information.  You may be able to reach them at times when the office is closed.  If you don't know of an experienced advisor in your area, call the extension office and get a name of someone.